Free Movie in the Park and Science & Technology Festival for Kids and
Families

Science is the theme of the 2nd Annual Movie in the Park with Cox
Communications. Co-sponsors include Arizona Technology Council, City
Councilor Regina Romero and City Council Member Richard Fimbres. To help
educate our youngest workforce about the benefits of science and
technology, the event features a festival with science-based fun
attractions for young people.

What: Free Family Fun Movie and Festival in the Park – Kennedy Park
Fiesta Area
Where: 3700 S. La Cholla Blvd – Take I-19 to Ajo, head west
to La Cholla, north on La Cholla and take first left into the Fiesta
Area, which is on the left
When: Saturday, October 1, 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. Movie starts at 7 p.m.
Festival 4 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

Cox will be showing “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs,” where a
young girl learns the importance of science and making a difference in
our world. In the animated film, young people investigate how weather
can affect people, plants, and animals.

Volunteers with the non-profit International Council on Systems
Engineering (INCOSE), Raytheon, U of A and The Physics Factory are among
the groups providing a variety of science experiments. Experiments
include making a ping pong ball float. Can you control a ping pong ball
as it floats above a hair dryer? Put your hand-eye coordination skills
to the test while learning about gravity and air pressure. Kids can also
have fun making a dry ice bubble that will grow and grow as it fills
with fog. How big will it get before it bursts? Give it a try and find
out! Non-profit organizations El Rio Health Center Foundation and
Chicanos Por La Causa will be tabling at the event as well as the
Mission Library and others.

The event is free and open to the public. Food will be available for
purchase at the event. You may want to bring a blanket or lawn chair for
the grassy area to watch the film on the big screen under the stars. You
can also bring an ice chest with food and drinks but no alcohol is
allowed. Please call Regina Romero’s Ward 1 City Council office at
(520) 791-4040 for more information and speak with Diana Rhodes, Council Aide.

The next Movie in the Park with Cox will be October 22 at 6 p.m. at Jacobs Park.

Today family members of a deceased Chicana community activist cut a ribbon dedicating the 1.2 mile Lorraine Lee Hidden Canyon Trail in Pima County adjacent to the JW Marriot Starr Pass Resort and Spa . The resort is at 3800 W. Starr Pass Blvd., the western extension of 22nd Street.

Lorraine Lee was Vice president of Chicanos Por La Causa, which is a “community development corporation committed to building stronger, healthier communities by being a leading advocate, coalition builder, and direct service provider. CPLC promotes positive change and self-sufficiency to enhance the quality of life for the benefit of those (they) serve.” In that capacity she worked tirelessly to bring social justice to the Chicano community in Tucson and Southern Arizona. Lorraine died from throat cancer at age 51, a little over 2 years ago.

400 people were in attendance today for the Dedication Ceremony including speaker Chairman Richard Elias of the Pima County Board of Supervisors, which unanimously approved the naming of the trail in April. Also speaking this morning were Pete Garcia, La Victoria Foundation; Danny Ortega, National Council of La Raza; and Lorraine’s 17 year old eldest daughter Rita Morado. Rita said that she remembered how much her mother loved picnics in the desert and taught her children to cherish and take care of it, by only “leaving footprints” behind.

Particularly moving were words from Father Ricardo Elford who stated that “we walk the trail of our lives with the heart and spirit of Lorraine.” How true.

An indigenous group Calpulli Teoxicalli performed a “duality of life” ceremonial dance, followed by scattering of flowers at the trailhead, representing Lorraine’s finding beauty in all of Nature.

Others in attendance were Ruben Reyes, aide to Congressman Raul Grijalva (CD 7), Ward 5 Councilmember-elect Richard Fimbres and his wife Mary (former aide to Councilmember Steve Leal), Public Defender Isabel Garcia, Jaime Gutierrez (University of Arizona), artist David Tineo, Scott Egan, aide to Supervisor Ray Carroll, Keith Bagwell, aide to Supervisor Elias, and former Ward 3 Councilmember Jerry Anderson. And of course lots of relatives and friends of Lorraine and her husband Alonso Morado were in attendance.

I knew Lorraine (who was part Chinese American) when she and I co-founded the Asian Pacific American Women of Tucson, now defunct. We were a social and political group of women in the 1990′s.

Lorraine Lee giving a speech

Like everyone who spoke today, I remember Lorraine as a passionate, fearless leader, who fought for social change, civil rights, women’s rights, and the environment as well.

Today was a fitting tribute to a courageous local activist, who loved the desert she grew up in, and who died much too young.

For more information about hiking this particular trail and other Pima County trails and parks, log onto www.pima.gov.nrpr.